Question One
Privatization of Prisons
There is an emerging trend in the western countries of Privatization of prisons. Because of the huge costs that are incurred in the construction of a new correctional facility, countries such as the United States of America and Britain have opted to subcontract private prisons to cater for the rising need for space in the prison facilities. Mass incarceration has created an opportunity niche that is currently being exploited by American Business people. The privatization of prisons in the United States is caused by the punitive measures and the tough sentencing rules adopted by the criminal justice system. The United States of America has the highest number of prisoners in the world. The number of prisoners held in the United States has increased drastically from ten thousand in 1972 to over two million in 2002. Mass incarceration, in a bid, to reduce the crime rates in the society has resulted to unavailability of spaces in the prisons. The privatization of prisons is a contentious issue that is still under public debate in the U.S.
Only twenty-seven states have legalized privatization of prisons. Privatization is usually done in a bid to reduce the costs that would be transferred to the public. The public has repeatedly rejected the increase of taxes to construct new correctional facilities. The state governments instead of building new projects choose to subcontract a private prison facility. Private correctional corporations such as the Correctional Corporation of America lease out the prison space to the government at fixed price irrespective of the cost that is incurred at the running of the prison facility. The Correctional Corporation of America has over one hundred and eighty five correctional facilities across the United States of America. The corporation receives billions of dollars from both the state governments and the Federal government each year. The money that is remitted to the private prison corporations is from the same tax payers who have refused to fund the state governments to create more correctional facilities.
The cost of running the prisons has been a key issue in this debate. States such as California have reported that the prison expenditure is higher than in healthcare and education. The citizens of the state of California have objected the move by the state government to raise more money for the construction of new correctional facilities. Similarly, citizens of the twenty six other states that have allowed the privatization of prisons have brought forward the same argument. The Bureau Justice Statistics has refuted the argument that the privatization of prisons saves the costs of running the prisons. The Bureau of Justice Statistics stated that the privatization of prisons create a situation where the States and local governments spend more on incarceration than they would have spent if they had constructed more prisons.
The Privatization of prisons has not absolved responsibility from the government on prisoners. The government has to inspect the private correctional facilities to ensure that they meet the acceptable standards of public correctional facility. The Private Correctional facilities are less accountable to the public and, therefore, are less likely to offer substandard services. Research has proved that the prison guards in private correctional facilities are inadequately trained. There is a greater risk of the prisoner escape in privately owned prisons than the in public correctional facilities. The society that sends people into prison for violating laws and social norms should take responsibility of the increased number of prisoners in the 21st century and cater for the cost of maintaining prisons. Since the cost of maintaining private prisons is high, private prisons should be reduced to reduce the unnecessary expense of the taxpayer.
Question two
Mental health crisis
Mental illness is a common medical health condition that affects the thinking pattern of a person. In the medieval time, mental illness was associated with a curse. The patients who were suffering from mental instability were locked in remote asylums away from the rest of the society. The asylums were in deplorable conditions. They were just constrained in the mental asylums without the requisite treatment. Medical scholars criticized the unhealthy condition of the mental asylum. During the progressive era, the condition of mental institutions was improved, and the asylums were made functional hospitals. The mental institutions were still located in remote areas.
President John Fitzgerald Kennedy signed the Community Mental health act in 1961. The Community Mental Health Act sparked the process of deinstitutionalization. It aimed at eliminating the discrimination that was caused by the long stay at the mental health centers. The process of deinstitutionalization happened in United States of America and Europe. The Community mental health Act aimed at reducing the time the mental patients spend in the mental health centers. The act established community centers that would provide home based treatment for the mentally unstable. The mental patients were inspected to ensure that they if they faced health challenges, the challenges would be handled by a trained medical practitioner.
With the mass release of mental patients in the society, mental patients freely roamed in the cities and streets occasionally causing violence and subsequently falling into the hands of the law enforcement agencies. A mental health crisis emerged that encompassed the mass incarceration of the mental health patients. Although it is forbidden by the federal law, it was found that states such as Mississippi had more mental health patients in correctional facilities than the patients who were in the state’s mental health hospital. The mass release of mental patients as a result of deinstitutionalization of mental health care created a situation that has been branded as the community disease. The increased number of mental patients in the society has posed a challenge to the law enforcement agencies. Mentally unstable people have a tendency of inclining toward criminal behavior. It has resulted to the incarnation of mental patients. The incarnation of mentally unstable people is fundamentally uncalled for because they lack the corresponding, malice aforethought that makes them guilty.
The police patrol squads should include an officer who is trained in mental health. It would reduce the instances where a mentally unstable people are arrested against their will. The Mental health professionals would determine the mental health status of the mentally unstable person and, therefore, decide the best course of action that will be taken. Lastly, the mentally unstable people should be confined in mental health care centers until they are safe to be integrated into the society. The state should also set homes where the homeless mental patients can stay and avoid a life of crime. The homes will augment the community mental healthcare services.
References
Burns, G. (2010). The Criminal Justice System. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Cole, G., & Gertz, M. (2012). The Criminal Justice System: Politics and Policies. New York: WADSWORTH Incorporated FULFILLMENT.
